Fantastic. I knew immediately I had to snap this one up today. My four and half years of college, and degree of choice finally paid off. Destiny shined on me today, in the form of this box, an ode to a character in a Shakespeare play. Also chosen mascot to a vegetable I actually do enjoy eating: brussels sprouts.

Except I have to admit I never read the Merry Wives of Windsor, nor Henry IV, parts one or two. I suppose I’ll get around to it one day. Only so much time in a day. I mistakenly thought this character came from The Tempest, a play I haven’t actually read either, though I did peruse Neil Gaiman’s ode to it ala the Sandman Comics several times… Um, maybe I shouldn’t play up the English Major bit so much (or downplay it, as self deprecating as I sometimes get.)

But at least I knew it was Shakespearean. I consider that a point in my favor.

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But why this character? According to the cliff noteswiki, I gleaned Falstaff as being the Chris Farley of Shakespearean times. Overweight, funny, loveable, yet carrying an underlying sadness.

Are brussels sprouts the Chris Farley of the vegetable world? As adults, we are doomed to despise them (according to popular folklore). Especially our children, and even our pet dogs begging for table scraps won’t touch them (again, popular folklore). And many people agree they tend to give people gas. I mean, Chris Farley was a funny, tragically funny, guy. People of all ages find farts funny. We recognize the humor of the brussels sprout. (But sadly not my spell checker. Still keep getting the wavy red line under the word ‘brussels’)

What is the underlying sadness of the Brussels Sprout? So unwanted, so unloved. Sort of round and portly (mostly dense). Not even the dog will touch them. A theme we see time and time again in popular folklore.

Kudos to you, oh wizards of advertising. Well done on this one. You have successfully used a literary reference, and used it well to represent your product.

This blog on the other hand, perhaps not so well.

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And did you know Falstaff has also been used as a vaguely, unpopular meme: